Venezuela President, Nicolas Maduro, slammed President Donald Trump as “desperate” on Monday after the U.S. government slapped sanctions on the Venezuelan leader.
The Trump’s administration’s toughest move so far against his government in response to Sunday’s election of a legislative superbody Washington denounced as a “sham” vote.
Under the sanctions, all of Maduro’s assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction were frozen, and Americans are barred from doing business with him, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said. Anyone who participates in the new legislative superbody set up by Maduro could be exposed to future U.S. sanctions for undermining democracy in Venezuela.
But speaking in Caracas, Maduro said he was not scared of Trump and decried his sanctions decision as an act of “desperation” and “impotence.”
“They (US) don’t intimidate me. The threats and sanctions from the imperialists don’t intimidate me one bit in this world. In this world I am not afraid of anything, I don’t fear God, I love God. I love God. I have nothing to fear from God because he loves me and I love him,” Maduro said.
The Venezuelan leader also lashed out at Mexico, Peru, Colombia and other Latin American nations who have expressed criticism of the National Assembly vote.
Maduro said: “Today, Emperor Donald Trump took decisions against me as president of the republic. They are decisions which reflect his impotence, his desperation, his hate, the character of a magnate, the Emperor of the United States of America.
“He gives orders for his subjects to obey in the imperialist lands in Latin America and the Caribbean. As whatever his name (Peru President Pedro Pablo) Kuczynski says, Jorge Rodriguez (Socialist Party member), ‘the United States sees us as an excited puppy that moves its tail’. Guys, listen. This message is not just for the patriotic Chavista supporters but also for the people who are not Chavistas, who are the opposition?.
“It’s a reaction because the people of Venezuela and their president voted on a National Constituent Assembly. I don’t deserve imperialist orders. I don’t deserve orders from a foreign government, not now and not ever.”
Maduro’s new constituent assembly will have the power to change the country’s constitution, with critics fearing it will change the rules to cement the Socialist government’s power.
